DUBLIN, Ireland: A woman has been arrested in Dublin in connection with threats to kidnap the children of Tánaiste Simon Harris.
The suspect, a woman in her 30s, was detained on September 2 at a residence in west Dublin by gardaí from Ronanstown, supported by counter-extremism officers from the Special Detective Unit. She is being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda station in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.
According to investigators, the threats were posted on social media over the weekend and directly targeted Harris's family.
In a statement, Harris said he was deeply affected as a father and condemned the threats as unacceptable for anyone in public life.
"Threatening people – any person – is a crime. Threatening children is despicable. It is cowardice, and it is a line that no decent society should tolerate being crossed," he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also denounced the threats as "abhorrent," warning that such actions against public figures undermine democracy itself.
Harris has previously been the subject of threats, including online abuse, protests outside his Wicklow home, and a bomb threat made last June.
In that incident, an anonymous caller contacted a Samaritans helpline claiming there was an explosive device at Harris's residence, prompting the charity to raise the alarm with authorities.
